Four Seasons creates sugary Smithsonian for the holidays

This is the time of year for hotel pastry chefs to show off their creativity. Candy, spun sugar, and gingerbread are transformed into houses, villages, and model train stations, to the delight of adults and children alike.

At the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., however, Executive Pastry Chef Charles Froke has evoked a favorite downtown landmark – the beloved Smithsonian Institution Castle on the National Mall. Froke’s recreation of the Castle is made entirely of gingerbread and decorated with sugar stained glass windows and chocolate tress. It is constructed on a base that is 2.5 feet by 3.5 feet at the bottom and three feet high.

The Castle is made out of -100 pounds of gingerbread dough, 80 pounds of icing, 20 pounds of sugar, and five pounds of chocolate.  You can see it inside the hotel’s Seasons Restaurant at 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. in Georgetown. It will be on display on weekdays for breakfast, Saturday lunch, and Sunday brunch through New Year's Day.

While pursuing his degree at the Culinary Institute of America, Froke rediscovered his love of baking that began in his mother’s and grandmother’s kitchens. As head of a group of pastry chefs at the Four Seasons, Froke has created gingerbread versions of the U.S. Capitol, the White House, National Cathedral, and other historic buildings.

Froke joined Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in 2003 as assistant pastry chef at Four Seasons Washington D.C. In 2006, he was promoted to Executive Pastry Chef at the Four Seasons Miami, and returned to Washington this year. Before joining the Four Seasons team, Froke studied with former White House Executive Pastry Chef Roland Mesnier, Thomas Keller of The French Laundry in California, Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger and The Food Network, and famed French chef Jacques Pepin.

When he’s not constructing sugary holiday spectaculars, Chef Froke is responsible for the “Chocolate Room” during Sunday brunch in Seasons Restaurant, where 35 unique and carefully decorated miniature desserts are on display. Guests will find All-American favorites including banana splits, s’mores, chocolate fudge cake, pecan pie and root beer floats alongside such innovations as pumpkin crème brulee, ‘beer-a-misu,’ and the chef's new homage to Elvis: a layered banana cake with dark chocolate cream and peanut butter mousse topped with soft meringue and sweet bacon. Now that's a cake fit for The King!